Egypt police kill 10 terrorists during raid in Giza

An ambulance is seen at the site of fire exchange with the militants in Giza's Ard al-Liwaa district, Egypt on Sept 10, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

CAIRO - At least 10 terrorists were killed and nine policemen were wounded on Sunday during a security raid in Giza province near the capital Cairo, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The terrorists were extremist elements escaping from North Sinai province and hiding in two apartments in Giza's Ard al-Liwaa district in preparation for carrying out a number of terror operations, said the police statement.

"Fire exchange with eight militants in the first apartment led to killing of them and shootout in the other apartment killed two," said the statement, noting that the gunfire was started by the militants and it continued for four hours.

"One of them threw an explosive device at the forces but it blew him off," it added.

The police said that the confrontations wounded nine policemen while four machine guns and ammunition were seized during the raid.

Since March, similar security campaigns killed about 50 militants in the provinces of Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Beheira, Fayoum, Qalioubiya, Minufiya, Ismailia and others.

Egypt has been fighting against a wave of terror activities that killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers since the military toppled former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests against his one-year rule and his currently outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.

Terror attacks in Egypt used to focus on police and military men in North Sinai before spreading nationwide and targeting the Coptic minority as well, with most of them claimed by a Sinai-based group loyal to the regional Islamic State militant group.

Another militant group referring to itself as Hasm, which appeared late last year and is regarded by the police as an affiliate with the Brotherhood, claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks that killed several policemen in the country.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian military and police have killed hundreds of militants and arrested a similar number of suspects as part of the country's anti-terror war declared by President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, the army chief then, following Morsi's removal.